Beginner
10 min

Improve the quality of data representation with MK22FN512VLH12 and TLC5926

Make your numbers pop in red

AlphaNum R Click with Kinetis Clicker

Published Jun 22, 2023

Click board™

AlphaNum R Click

Dev Board

Kinetis Clicker

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

MK22FN512VLH12

Elevate your app's aesthetics - integrate a striking red display with ease

A

A

Hardware Overview

How does it work?

AlphaNum R Click is based on one red two digits 14-segment alphanumeric display with leading dots and two TLC5926s, 16-bit constant-current LED-sink drivers from Texas Instruments. This display consists of two sets of 14 LEDs arranged in a rectangular starburst fashion, where each of the 14 LEDs is called a segment. The segment forms part of a numerical digit (decimal and hex) or ISO basic Latin alphabet to be displayed when illuminated. The fifteenth segment of each set is a comma, suitable for displaying a decimal number. Two TLC5926s drive this display with constant currents in the sink configuration. The TLC5926 is a

256-step programmable global current gain with constant current adjusted by an external resistor; in this case, it is kept around 8mA per segment. This Click board™ uses the SPI serial interface of the mikroBUS™ socket to communicate with the host MCU. There are four additional pins, two for each TLC5926: data latch pins marked as LE1 and LE2, routed to the CS and RST pins of the mikroBUS™ socket, and display segment select pins labeled as NS and NS# routed to the INT and PWM pins of the mikroBUS™ socket. Those latch pins are data strobe input pins where serial data is transferred to the respective latch when they are

in a high logic state. The data is latched when those pins are in a low logic state. Output enable pins are active LOW with enabled output drivers; otherwise, with a high state, the display is turned OFF. This Click board™ can operate with either 3.3V or 5V logic voltage levels selected via the PWR SEL jumper. This way, it is allowed for both 3.3V and 5V capable MCUs to use the communication lines properly. However, the Click board™ comes equipped with a library containing easy-to-use functions and an example code that can be used, as a reference, for further development.

AlphaNum R Click hardware overview image

Features overview

Development board

Kinetis Clicker is a compact starter development board that brings the flexibility of add-on Click boards™ to your favorite microcontroller, making it a perfect starter kit for implementing your ideas. It comes with an onboard 32-bit ARM Cortex-M4 microcontroller, the MK22FN512VLH12 from NXP Semiconductor, a USB connector, LED indicators, buttons, a mikroProg connector, and a header for interfacing with external electronics. Thanks to its compact design with clear and easy-recognizable silkscreen markings, it provides a fluid and immersive working experience, allowing access

anywhere and under any circumstances. Each part of the Kinetis Clicker development kit contains the components necessary for the most efficient operation of the same board. In addition to the possibility of choosing the Kinetis Clicker programming method, using USB HID mikroBootloader, or through an external mikroProg connector for Kinetis programmer, the Clicker board also includes a clean and regulated power supply module for the development kit. The USB-MiniAB connection provides up to 500mA of current, which is more than enough to operate all

onboard and additional modules. All communication methods that mikroBUS™ itself supports are on this board, including the well-established mikroBUS™ socket, reset button, and several buttons and LED indicators. Kinetis Clicker is an integral part of the Mikroe ecosystem, allowing you to create a new application in minutes. Natively supported by Mikroe software tools, it covers many aspects of prototyping thanks to a considerable number of different Click boards™ (over a thousand boards), the number of which is growing every day.

Kinetis Clicker double side image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

default

Architecture

ARM Cortex-M4

MCU Memory (KB)

512

Silicon Vendor

NXP

Pin count

64

RAM (Bytes)

131072

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

NC
NC
AN
Right Display Data Latch
PTB3
RST
Left Display Data Latch
PTC4
CS
SPI Clock
PTC5
SCK
SPI Data OUT
PTC7
MISO
SPI Data IN
PTC6
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
Left Display Enable
PTC1
PWM
Right Display Enable
PTD0
INT
NC
NC
TX
NC
NC
RX
NC
NC
SCL
NC
NC
SDA
Power Supply
5V
5V
Ground
GND
GND
1

Take a closer look

Schematic

AlphaNum R Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

Kinetis Clicker front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Kinetis Clicker as your development board.

Kinetis Clicker front image hardware assembly
Thermo 28 Click front image hardware assembly
Prog-cut hardware assembly
Kinetis Mini B Connector clicker - upright/background hardware assembly
Necto image step 2 hardware assembly
Necto image step 3 hardware assembly
Necto image step 4 hardware assembly
Necto image step 5 hardware assembly
Necto image step 6 hardware assembly
Kinetis Clicker HA MCU/Select Step hardware assembly
Necto No Display image step 8 hardware assembly
Necto image step 9 hardware assembly
Necto image step 10 hardware assembly
Debug Image Necto Step hardware assembly

Track your results in real time

Application Output via Debug Mode

1. Once the code example is loaded, pressing the "DEBUG" button initiates the build process, programs it on the created setup, and enters Debug mode.

2. After the programming is completed, a header with buttons for various actions within the IDE becomes visible. Clicking the green "PLAY" button starts reading the results achieved with the Click board™. The achieved results are displayed in the Application Output tab.

DEBUG_Application_Output

Software Support

Library Description

This library contains API for AlphaNum R Click driver.

Key functions:

  • alphanumg_write_character - This function displays characters on the left and right LED segments

  • alphanumg_write_number - This function displays numbers on the left and right LED segments

Open Source

Code example

This example can be found in NECTO Studio. Feel free to download the code, or you can copy the code below.

/*!
 * @file main.c
 * @brief AlphaNumR Click example
 *
 * # Description
 * This example showcases the initialization and configuration of the logger and click modules
 * and shows how to display characters and numbers on both LED segments of the click.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 * 
 * ## Application Init 
 * This function initializes and configures the logger and click modules.
 * 
 * ## Application Task  
 * This function sets the time interval at which the symbols are displayed on the LED 
 * segments and shows a few characters and numbers.
 *
 * @author Stefan Ilic
 *
 */

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "alphanumr.h"

static alphanumr_t alphanumr;
static log_t logger;

void application_init ( void ) {
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;  /**< Logger config object. */
    alphanumr_cfg_t alphanumr_cfg;  /**< Click config object. */

    /** 
     * Logger initialization.
     * Default baud rate: 115200
     * Default log level: LOG_LEVEL_DEBUG
     * @note If USB_UART_RX and USB_UART_TX 
     * are defined as HAL_PIN_NC, you will 
     * need to define them manually for log to work. 
     * See @b LOG_MAP_USB_UART macro definition for detailed explanation.
     */
    LOG_MAP_USB_UART( log_cfg );
    log_init( &logger, &log_cfg );
    log_info( &logger, " Application Init " );

    // Click initialization.

    alphanumr_cfg_setup( &alphanumr_cfg );
    ALPHANUMR_MAP_MIKROBUS( alphanumr_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    err_t init_flag  = alphanumr_init( &alphanumr, &alphanumr_cfg );
    if ( SPI_MASTER_ERROR == init_flag ) {
        log_error( &logger, " Application Init Error. " );
        log_info( &logger, " Please, run program again... " );

        for ( ; ; );
    }

    log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
}

void application_task ( void ) {
    alphanumr_set_display_interval( &alphanumr, 1000 );

    alphanumr_write_character( &alphanumr, 'M', 'E' );
    alphanumr_write_character( &alphanumr, '@', '?' );

    alphanumr_write_number( &alphanumr, 0,  1 );
    alphanumr_write_number( &alphanumr, 1,  2 );
    alphanumr_write_number( &alphanumr, 2,  3 );
    alphanumr_write_number( &alphanumr, 3,  4 );
}

int main ( void ) 
{
    application_init( );
    
    for ( ; ; ) 
    {
        application_task( );
    }

    return 0;
}

// ------------------------------------------------------------------------ END

Additional Support

Resources

Love this project?

'Buy This Kit' button takes you directly to the shopping cart where you can easily add or remove products.